Toddler dentistry questions...fillings, papoose board, etc. - Page 3

[PlayaMama]

Originally Posted by Denali

My dentist said pretty much the same thing today. They usually let the parents help hold the kid down, but he said "we also have a board to help if necessary" (which I told him I didn't like )
He also said that due to the drugs he uses for "conscious sedation", the kids won't remember at all afterwards. But it's hard for me to believe that struggling for an hour won't traumatize them in some way

He said he'd still prefer in office sedation to general anesthesia in the hospital since there are fewer risks involved.....and I don't know what to think or to decide

we had in-office sedation, no parents allowed with my ds at 1-1/2 for some fillings and it sucked. it was hard to get him to drink the sedative and hard to watch them take him away.

we did ga at a surgery center for my dd at 20 months and it worked like a dream. she had an anesthesiologist dedicated to her, her dentist had been doing it a long time and she was under for less than an hour. she woke up easily unlike my ds who was drowsy/passing out all day and her teeth are fixed.

it helped that my dentist was awesome and all about trying to prevent the decay with xylitol and mi paste and also stated that ideally we could lessen breastfeeding but that he understood that didn't always happen. he also wanted us to be able to keep it from progressing until she was old enough for nitrous and novacaine but when he said that we weren't going to be able to make it we decided to fix her teeth while there was still enough healthy tooth to make a cap and before it got to her roots.

i'm so glad we did. she can eat apples and smile and she's not in any pain nor are her roots damaged because we caught it in time.

best of luck mama!

[Denali]

Thanks to all of you for sharing your experiences

Originally Posted by eternamariposa

If its a children's hospital they are also willing to flex to best accomodate your child. When mine screamed "i want my mommy!!!" and no one could hold him still and got his pulse ready to exit the 190s they brought me into recovery and when his pulse dropped below 150 within a minute of hitting my arms, they disconnected all the crap that was bothering him and sat with us. I sang to him and he fell asleep.

That's one thing I don't like about the GA option: It's not a children's hospital (there's none in our area), and the dentist already said that I would not be allowed to be there when he wakes up in recovery. Judging from my own experience at the same hospital (he was born there), they are pretty inflexible when it comes to rules and regulations

Originally Posted by eternamariposa

He was not nursing anymore-very newly weaned at a little over two. But I know some mothers who were still nursing pumped before hand so that after the procedure they could offer it in a cup until the lo would be ready to nurse.

Oh, with my son, it's probably not the milk he wants but the comfort of "boobie"

Originally Posted by NatrlCatholicMama

When you say it's i the brown/black stage, do you mean it was white denting and has progressed to brown grooves, or do you mean it was decayed, and now the decay is covering over with the (increasingly) black & glossy sealing stuff that Nagel mentions in CUre Tooth Decay (that is a sign of healing)?

Good question.....I'm not sure.
A few of the teeth with smaller spots are in the active decay phase, i think, with brown grooves.
The top 4 teeth (the worst ones, that are almost down to the gum line) seem to be in an inactive phase with black color....I guess I'll have to finish reading the 'cure tooth decay' book to understand it better

Originally Posted by NatrlCatholicMama

I'd also get really familiar with the C protocol - vitamin C & restoring nutritious eating has taken care of our abscesses (which, again, are not a danger in themselves, they are only the body's response to a growing infection and when properly done, they contain it beautifully & without pain) every time, whether with teeth or an infected bite on ds' leg or an infected wart on a girly toe. And pack my SAP & bioflavonoids, for sure.

I don't know anything about the vit. C protocol, except for what you wrote in another posting, but will research it

Originally Posted by MCatLvrMom2A&X

It took less than a minute and I have no regrets about it. I wasnt willing to risk his life under GA just to have 4 teeth removed.

That's true for short procedures...unfortunately for my son, it'll be about an hour of dental work, which I find a quite long time

Originally Posted by laundrycrisis

This dentist is very supportive of breastfeeding, including extended breastfeeding, okay with alternative vax schedules, very thorough in his work, and his office is a very positive place where the whole staff does their best to help the kids be relaxed and have a positive experience.

Wow...seems you really lucked out with him

Originally Posted by laundrycrisis

I would look at GA for a very long or involved dental procedure,

Would you consider an hour "very long"?
The extractions are supposed to take only a few minutes, the rest is for the crowns etc. The dentist said that ds is "on the verge", meaning that right now I still have the choice between sedation and GA, but if it got any worse, he'd definitely have to have GA.

Originally Posted by PlayaMama

we had in-office sedation, no parents allowed with my ds at 1-1/2 for some fillings and it sucked. it was hard to get him to drink the sedative and hard to watch them take him away.

I'm glad that our dentist allows the parents in the room.....the entire thing is hard enough as it is

Again, thanks to everyone.....I'll keep you posted about our developments, too

[sparklett]

Hi everyone,

OP here! I'm really glad everyone has come and talked about their experiences, options, and fears. We're reaching the end of a journey that started 6 months ago.

Since my original post, we have seen five additional dentists. Our insurance company changed providers, so after finding a dentist we loved, we had to start from scratch. We've seen four pediatric dentists and two primary dentists. All agree that 3 root canals and a filling are unavoidable.

I've read up on biological dentistry and Weston Price. I love the ideas, but there is no biological dentist near me and I can't afford to pay anything out-of-pocket.

So yesterday we made the decision: on April 5th we're taking DS in for oral sedation and nitrous oxide. He'll have 3 pulpotomies and a filling. We had a choice between doing this and GA in the office, which would have cost over $1,000. Our insurance does not cover GA in hospital. Our pediatrician wasn't comfortable with GA in office, so we're going with the sedation. At least we don't need extractions.

I am scared, scared, scared, but we need to do this. Of the four teeth that need work, one is now broken and another is chipped. I keep feeling like I somehow did something wrong, but I know that's not the case. DS has preemie caries and there's not much I could have done to prevent it.

I'll let you know how things go in April. Please think good thoughts for us.

[MCatLvrMom2A&X]

I know exactly the fear you are having. DS did the sedation in office twice and both times the hardest part turned out to be getting the meds down. Some advice take a medicine dropper or syringe with you. Here they dont provide one and it was very hard to give ds the meds the first time with the little cups. Almost dropped them when he moved away. Take your time giving the meds it took 15 minutes both times for me to get it all down ds because he was trying to gag after each little bit. Doing it slow helped him so much with that. I was able to let him rinse and spit after each tiny bit I gave him but he was old enough to know not to swollow.

I also had the guilt but honestly ds's teeth came in bad it had nothing to do with what I did or didnt do despite dentists trying to blame nursing. If that where true then both my kids would have had bad teeth since they nursed exactly the same way until weaning at the exact same age. It is just one of those things that happen genetics I think are a big part of it.

[PGTlatte]

Originally Posted by Denali

Would you consider an hour "very long"?
The extractions are supposed to take only a few minutes, the rest is for the crowns etc. The dentist said that ds is "on the verge", meaning that right now I still have the choice between sedation and GA, but if it got any worse, he'd definitely have to have GA.

I would feel like an hour would be a long time for me to be in the chair (I had four wisdom teeth extracted under local with no nitrous - it was a very long hour), but I can mentally handle it. If it was a young child who was going to be pretty calm, with nitrous, it might still be pushing it. If it was a young child who was going to be really unhappy and/or the nitrous was not working, I would think that was too long. I would probably want to split that procedure up, or do it under GA. I felt like getting the nitrous working was really important, and then getting the work done quickly.